Optical fiber typically comes in an acrylate coating, to prevent damage and corrosion of fragile glass. At the same time, it is often desirable to have an easy access to the bare glass, be it for FBG (fiber Bragg gratings) writing or for making sensors based on interactions with refractive index of the surrounding environment. The typical methods to remove the standard fiber coating, based on mechanical or thermal strippers or even based on chemical processing are cumbersome and carry significant risk of damaging the glass, especially when even invisible microscratches might be detrimental and unacceptable. In particular, longer lengths of fiber (exceeding few centimeters) are very difficult to strip that way. Fibrain has developed a unique type of coating which does not directly adhere to the fiber glass but instead forms a sort of floating tube, which can be very easily removed in long lengths (at least 30 cm in one go) and this way an uncoated, yet unscathed glass is revealed. No tools are required for this coating removal, therefore mechanical strength of the glass is maintained. At the same time the floating coating-tube still protects the fiber so it is much more robust in handling and transportation. Typically, the fiber is compliant with the telecom G.652D/G.657A1 specification, including very low loss. Unless specifically requested, the floating coating fiber is shipped as “hydrogen-sensitized”, meaning that it responds better to hydrogen loading, which is often used for FBG writing. For more information please contact photonics@fibrain.pl.
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